Atlanta was at first launched as the terminus of a main point out-sponsored railroad. With fast growth, nonetheless, it soon turned the convergence point amongst numerous railroads, spurring its fast growth. The city's name derives from that of the Western and Atlantic Railroad's nearby depot, signifying the town's increasing popularity as a transportation hub. During the American Civil War, the metropolis was almost entirely burned to the floor in General William T. Sherman's March to the Sea. Nevertheless, the city rose from its ashes and rapidly became a nationwide middle of commerce and the unofficial funds of the "New South". During the 1950s and 1960s, Atlanta turned a main organizing centre of the civil rights movement, with Martin Luther King Jr., Ralph David Abernathy, and numerous other locals actively playing significant roles in the movement's management.[sixteen] In the course of the modern era, Atlanta has attained global prominence as a major air transportation hub, with Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta Worldwide Airport getting the world's busiest airport by passenger traffic considering that 1998.

It ranks in the leading twenty amid planet cities and tenth in the country with a gross domestic item (GDP) of $385 billion. Atlanta's economic climate is considered assorted, with dominant sectors that include aerospace, transportation, logistics, skilled and business companies, media operations, medical services, and information technological innovation. Atlanta has topographic characteristics that consist of rolling hills and dense tree protection, earning it the nickname of "the metropolis in a forest". Gentrification of Atlanta's neighborhoods, to begin with spurred by the 1996 Summer Olympics, has intensified in the 21st century with the development of the Atlanta Beltline, altering the city's demographics, politics, aesthetic, and lifestyle.

Not too long ago, Atlanta has been the heart for movie and television generation, mostly simply because of the Georgia Amusement Industry Expense Act, which awards experienced productions a transferable earnings tax credit history of twenty% of all in-condition fees for movie and television investments of $500,000 or more. Some movie and tv manufacturing facilities based in Atlanta incorporate Turner Studios, Pinewood Studios (Pinewood Atlanta), Tyler Perry Studios, Williams Avenue Productions, and the EUE/Screen Gems soundstages. Movie and tv manufacturing injected $9.5 billion into Georgia's economic climate in 2017, with Atlanta garnering most of the tasks. atlanta classified listings has emerged as the all-time most popular spot for film production in the United States and one particular of the 10 most common destinations globally.

Compared to other American cities, Atlanta's economic climate in the past experienced been disproportionately impacted by the 2008 financial crisis and the subsequent recession, with the city's financial system earning a position of sixty eight among 100 American towns in a September 2014 report thanks to an elevated unemployment charge, declining actual income amounts, and a depressed housing market. From atlanta bdsm escorts to 2011, Atlanta observed a .9% contraction in employment and plateauing cash flow development at .4%. Despite the fact that unemployment had reduced to 7% by late 2014, this was even now larger than the nationwide unemployment rate of five.eight% Atlanta's housing marketplace has also struggled, with house costs dropping by two.one% in January 2012, achieving levels not seen given that 1996. In comparison with a yr before, the common home price in Atlanta plummeted to seventeen.three% in February 2012, as a result becoming the greatest annual drop in the heritage of the index for any American or world-wide city. The decline in residence prices prompted some economists to deem Atlanta the worst housing market place in the country at the peak of the depression. Nonetheless, the city's real estate industry has resurged since 2012, so much median residence value and lease development drastically outpaced the national common by 2018, many thanks to a rapidly-developing regional economy.